Teaching Activities

I teach undergraduate organic chemistry (CHEM 2370/2380). You can access the syllabi for my classes at the faculty.unt.edu website. I also mentor graduate, undergraduate students year-round in original topics of chemistry research related to my reserarch interests (see below). During summers, I also mentor high school students from Denton-area high schools in chemistry research.

If you are a high school chemistry student (or teacher) and would like to participate in our research endeavors here at UNT, please contact me via email (youngblood@unt.edu).

Research Interests

I am interested in the synthesis of novel organic semiconductor compounds and materials, new methods for the growth of nanostructured films of oxide semiconductors, and the preparation and study of composite optoelectronic materials and excitonic solar cells from these organic and oxide-based semiconductors.

Service Activities

I serve on our Chemistry department's Safety Committee. I serve as a manuscript reviewer for various peer-review journals, and as a grant reviewer for programs within the Chemistry Division and the Division of Materials Research of the National Science Foundation.

Background

I was born in Lubbock, Texas, but grew up mainly in rural eastern North Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia. I have lived in eight different states over the years (TX, NC, GA, FL, VA, CO, CA, and PA), and lived abroad while serving as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer (Kingdom of Swaziland).

I received a Bachelor of Science degree from Washington and Lee University (Chemistry), and a PhD in organic chemistry from North Carolina State University. I studied materials chemistry and photoelectrochemistry while working as a postdoctoral fellow at the Pennsylvania State University. Before attending graduate school to study organic chemistry, I worked for two years in industry (Axys Pharmaceuticals, CA) as an analytical biochemist (enzymology).

I am married and have one daughter (4 yrs old) and one son (2 years old). In years past, I would have cited various favorite activities such as hiking, playing guitar (badly), dancing, and getting together with friends. But being an assistant professor leaves little time for these things. Fortunately, chemistry is quite rewarding :-)

If you want more details about me, you can read about me via my page at faculty.unt.edu, or through the Curriculum Vitae attached to this webpage (see below).